Besides writing for Salt City Hoops, David contributes to the Utah Jazz coverage for the Deseret News and has written for the Utah Jazz website and Hoopsworld.com (now Basketball Insiders). He graduated from BYU and works for LDS Philanthropies. He and his incredibly patient wife have five amazing children--four girls and a boy named Stockton (yes, really).

With the Utah Jazz winding down the somewhat drawn out preseason shortly, things are starting to get settled. Jazz fans are getting familiar with head coach Quin Snyder’s style on both ends of the court. Likewise, as Tuesday’s bout with the Oklahoma City Thunder indicated, lineups and rotations are taking shape. The starters received the lion’s share of the playing time, with the reserves contributing in the time they were given.

So what is happening at the end of the bench? Who succeeds in making the opening night roster? Here’s a rundown of each of the deep reserves.

Ian Clark: Clark was a summer league revelation in 2013, impressing so much that several teams were clamoring for his services. Utah won the bid, but Clark received minimal playing time. After a summer league where his main skill–shooting–was only so-so. Even so, the Jazz picked up his 2o14-15 season at $816K and he has done well in the preseason. In fact, he’s been a pleasant surprise. The first few games were okay, but the last few have brought about a new and improved Ian Clark. He has played a lot, spending time at both back court positions. Against the Lakers, he ran the offense well behind Dante Exum. He struggled versus the Thunder, but overall has been able to help keep defenses en guard. Clark may carve out a more regular role this season.

Jeremy Evans: It would appear that Evans is the odd man out in the front court rotations. After earning his first consistent playing time in 2013-14, and chipping in 6.1 PPG (0n 52.7% shooting) and 4.7 RPG, Evans has been supplanted by newcomers Trevor Booker and Steve Novak. Booker was clearly brought on to be a major role player for the Jazz and he’s shown what he can do and bring . Novak will help bring a stretch four element off the pine, which seems crucial to a Snyder offense. With all that, Evans seemingly returns to a deep reserve role–one he will most likely play sparingly. He has only played 26 minutes in six outings. Longtime an advanced stats darling, Evans will still manage to do good things when given the chance. He’ll need to start ready, as he has done his entire NBA career.

Carrick Felix: He remains a mystery. Due to injuries and inexperience, Felix saw very little on-court action his rookie campaign. He did enough, though, to earn Utah’s attention. They would not have acquired him in the Cleveland trade had there not been some things it liked. An injury during the first practice of the year set him back. He worked hard to make it back earlier than forecasted, but he has done very little in the sparse playing time he’s seen (5.8 MPG in four games). He’s not yet scored. Felix has good size and is a willing defender. But even with a guaranteed contract, he might be on the bubble due to his inexpensive deal.

Dahntay Jones: As we’ve mentioned before, Jones was the early favorite to nab a final roster spot. He was receiving solid back-up time, but his minutes have decreased as the preseason has progressed. Jones had a very poor showing versus the Los Angeles Clippers and then did not play Tuesday. He has had his moments, particularly defensively and would be a veteran help. But can he still play, especially after sitting out last season?

Toure’ Murry: Murry had a nice game against the Portland Trailblazers, notching seven points in 11 minutes. He’s only played one more game and six minutes since then. He was brought to Utah’s camp as insurance, a combo guard with good size and defensive potential. It is mildly surprising that he has not gotten onto the court, as the Jazz seem high on him. He had a fair share of suitors, but chose to come play for Snyder. Again, he has a $250K guarantee–something to consider, but yet still a pittance on NBA standards.

It seems unlikely that more than two of this trio of Felix, Jones and Murry makes the regular season squad. While Jones is the vet, the other two have youth and upside and could hone their abilities with the Idaho Stampede. The latter duo also have more guaranteed money.

Brock Motum: After a really nice summer league effort and a nice performance for Australia’s national team, Motum was a no-brainer for Jazz camp. Yet he has only appeared in one game (scoring seven points in 10 minutes). Utah’s deep front court has been a big reason. Still, it was surprising that neither he nor Jack Cooley saw time against the Lakers in a game where Snyder was playing around with lineups and resting main core guys. Motum is a nice shooter–a stretch four prospect. He also can rebound and seemingly takes pride in doing the little things.

Jack Cooley: He too has been affected by Utah’s depth up front. Cooley has rebounded well–clearly his forte. He is a big body who enjoys physicality. The Jazz expressed interest in him last year as an undrafted rookie and liked him enough to give him a small guarantee. Like the recently waived Dee Bost and Kevin Murphy, he could have been brought to camp with the understanding that he’d spend time in Boise.

If Utah looks to have a full 15-man roster, it might be between these two bigs. If so, it might be based mostly on their showings in practice. Motum seems to have more upside and versatility. He also is more of a known commodity, given his summer league time.

While the final roster make-up is probably not keeping Utah Jazz fans awake at night, this will be something to watch over the next few days. One never knows when a 14th or 15th guy emerges to be a solid contributor, especially should injury or trades arise.

Author information

David J Smith

Besides writing for Salt City Hoops, David contributes to the Utah Jazz coverage for the Deseret News and has written for the Utah Jazz website and Hoopsworld.com (now Basketball Insiders). He graduated from BYU and works for LDS Philanthropies. He and his incredibly patient wife have five amazing children--four girls and a boy named Stockton (yes, really).

Denim Millward, before SCH, wrote for Bleacher Report about the Jazz and the NBA. Despite this, he is actually a good writer, and we promise we will eschew the slideshow format on this site. He also contributes to The Color Commentator Magazine, and strangely, likes wrestling.

Editor’s note: This is the second in the annual series from Salt City Hoops ranking the current players on the Utah Jazz roster. Throughout the preseason, we’ll count up through the current Jazz roster, from worst to first, profiling each player as we go along. The profiles are individually written by Salt City Hoops’ staff of writers, while the ranking was selected by me (Andy Larsen). To go through JazzRank articles from this or past preseasons, visit our JazzRank category page. Carrick Felix is #13.

The trade that brought Carrick Felix to the Utah Jazz had all the excitement and pizzazz of a quiet evening spent playing sudoku, sipping chamomile tea and listening to the best of Enya.

The deal, which saw the Jazz ship the Jon Lucas III, Erik Murphy and Malcolm Thomas to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Felix, a future draft pick and cash, was categorized as a preparatory trade by Cleveland to free up cap room and acquire non-guaranteed contracts in an effort to nab Kevin Love to pair with Akron’s prodigal son, LeBron James.

The outgoing trio from Utah was clearly acquired for their favorable contract statuses, not for their roundball acumen. It may have been easy for Felix to be overlooked in the trade among the trifecta of relative no-names included in the deal, even with Felix being the only player acquired by Utah in the deal. But Felix was certainly not an albatross Cleveland insisted Utah take on in exchange for their bounty of assets, nor was his inclusion a simple matter of matching salaries or opening roster spots.

Even in this relatively banal trade, Utah wanted Felix, and they got him.

So what can be expected of Felix, who has one game of starter’s minutes worth of total NBA experience, this season?

Great question.

Felix remains somewhat of a mystery man with the Jazz. His NBA sample size is far too miniscule from which to draw any coherent conclusions, and nagging injuries have prevented Jazz coaches and fans from seeing much of anything from Felix thus far in training camp and preseason. Here’s what we do know about Carrick Felix:

He played college ball at Arizona State after attending the College of Southern Idaho for a year.

The prevailing opinion regarding Felix is that his defensive game is far ahead of his offensive game.

That’s pretty much it at this point. Heck, Felix’s affinity for skateboarding, about as common in the NBA as chess club memberships and demure dress, isn’t even the most talked-about quirk of a newcomer. (That honor goes to Trevor Booker’s love of breakfast cereal.)

Despite the mystique surrounding the former Sun Devil, there have been comparisons to a former NBA player, or at least suggestions to Felix regarding after whom he should model his game. Older Jazz fans may remember him as the most annoying player to don a Spurs uniform since Dennis Rodman, and newer Jazz fans probably know him from his appearances on ESPN and his love of bow ties.

That’s right: some NBA pundits see Felix’s ultimate ceiling as Bruce Bowen, arguably one of the best “three and D” players of all time whose dogged determination and aggression on defense made him the most hated player of nearly every NBA fan outside of San Antonio. While infinitely frustrating to play against, a player like that would be amazingly beneficial in shoring up Utah’s transition and perimeter defense.

Felix’s playing time figures to be scant early on, with one or more stints with the Idaho Stampede firmly within the realm of possibility. However, Utah’s back court is not so deep as to effectively eliminate the possibility of Felix getting moderate amounts of playing time should he prove himself worthy. Behind projected starters Trey Burke and Alec Burks are a cadre of young and unproven guards. Ian Clark saw scant playing time with Utah in his rookie season last year, and Toure’ Murry had mere glints of promise in his sparse minutes with the Knicks. Rookie phenom and top draft pick Dante Exum is a shoe-in for a the lion’s share of third-guard minutes as well. While there are plenty of bodies between Felix and significant playing time, there is enough uncertainty surrounding to position to allow the possibility of Felix having more than just a cup of coffee in the NBA next season to exist.

While Felix’s likely destiny for 2014 is a deep bench player, Utah’s mystery man may just surprise us all.

Author information

Denim Millward

Denim Millward, before SCH, wrote for Bleacher Report about the Jazz and the NBA. Despite this, he is actually a good writer, and we promise we will eschew the slideshow format on this site. He also contributes to The Color Commentator Magazine, and strangely, likes wrestling.

Denim Millward, before SCH, wrote for Bleacher Report about the Jazz and the NBA. Despite this, he is actually a good writer, and we promise we will eschew the slideshow format on this site. He also contributes to The Color Commentator Magazine, and strangely, likes wrestling.

The dichotomy between the paths of first-round NBA draft picks and second-round choices is a stark one. First rounders parade across the stage of New York, exchange awkward hugs with David Stern and instantly become the darlings of their new team. Conversely, choices in the 2nd round are mere footnotes in NBA history, are guaranteed nothing and have to ward off the starving D-Leaguers and undrafted free agents who are all gunning for the last spot or two on the roster.

While the glitz and glamour of being an early selection in the NBA draft is nowhere to be found from pick 31 on, the 2nd round can prove to be a veritable treasure trove of raw materials primed to be molded into valuable rotation players or even into potential All-Stars. Hitting pay dirt on a 2nd-round afterthought has the potential to fast-forward the rebuilding process or to vault a playoff team into conference contention.

Obviously, there’s no magic divining rod to lead the Jazz to this year’s Paul Millsap or Manu Ginobili. However, there are certain indicators that help highlight potential 2nd-round breakthroughs.

How Fixable is the Flaw?

Obviously, every player slated to go in the 2nd round has his fair share of flaws and weaknesses, most of them significant enough to cast severe doubt on whether or not each respective prospect will ever play meaningful minutes in the league. If these flaws can be overcome, either through coaching, hard work or discipline, the player’s ceiling rockets upward.

Do the Strengths Significantly Outweigh the Weaknesses?

Though he was a 1st-round pick, let’s examine Steve Nash as an example. Nash earned multiple league MVPs and All-Star appearances despite being a sieve on defense. Despite the large deficiency, Nash achieved superstardom by virtue of his stellar shooting and pure point guard skills. If the 2nd-round prospect in question has one or two dominant skills, it could more than compensate for any weaknesses that shoved him down draft boards.

Using these indicators, four 2013 prospects projected to go in the 2nd round stand out:

C.J. Leslie

Leslie’s explosive athleticism and penchant for rim-rattling dunks make him one of the more intriguing 2nd-round prospects. He combined his athleticism and impressive length well at N.C. State and was a very disruptive defensive presence. His impressive 7.4 rebounds-per-game average makes Leslie and even more tantalizing prospect.

Leslie’s primary flaws revolve around an inconsistent motor and proclivity to disappear at times during his time with the Wolfpack. His negative attitude and body language are major turn-offs to scouts, and explain his 2nd-round grade. If surrounded by the right type of coach and strong veteran teammates, Leslie could be a tremendous 2nd-round value if he decides to start caring.

Carrick Felix

Don’t believe the rumors that Felix’s inclusion was a homer pick due to his attending a college in Idaho prior to transferring to Arizona State; Felix cracks the list for multiple reasons. Felix is an athletic hustle player capable of defending both wing positions. His offensive game is unrefined, if not nonexistent, which is the reason for Felix not being a more highly touted prospect.

The primary indicator that Felix has the potential to develop into a solid NBA player is his track record; namely, the improvements he made each year in college. With a tenacious player like Felix who is already accustomed to playing hard every night, he could get by in the NBA strictly because of his impressive rebounding and defensive skills. If Felix finds himself in the right system with an offensive-minded coach who can help him develop a more in-depth offensive skill set, he could drastically outplay his draft position.

Archie Goodwin

It’s pretty clear Archie Goodwin made a mistake declaring for the 2013 NBA draft. There’s a puncher’s chance that whichever team takes a gamble on Goodwin will profit from his poor decision.

Goodwin is raw as they come. His explosive athleticism, a calling card of Kentucky Wildcat basketball, seems to be an indicator of the massive potential Goodwin has. Goodwin doesn’t seem to understand quite how to put all the pieces together yet and how to properly utilize his athleticism. If a team has the patience to deal with Goodwin’s growing pains and the right coach to help him develop, then Goodwin could be one of the best second round draft picks since Ginobili.

Peyton Siva

Peyton Siva is quite possibly the hardest sell of all four players. His diminutive stature is one weakness that cannot be corrected. Siva, who will turn 23 in October, is one of the older players in this draft, which is another factor that cannot be “corrected” that may cause some teams to shy away.

Siva was included on this list because of his unique combination of facilitation skills, explosive athleticism and leadership intangibles. A national champion in his senior season at Louisville, Siva was known for his contagious attitude and perpetually playing with emotion. Siva will have to improve his substandard shooting for his success to translate to the NBA, but such an improvement is certainly not out of the question for a player who takes as much pride in his game as Siva does.

Author information

Denim Millward

Denim Millward, before SCH, wrote for Bleacher Report about the Jazz and the NBA. Despite this, he is actually a good writer, and we promise we will eschew the slideshow format on this site. He also contributes to The Color Commentator Magazine, and strangely, likes wrestling.